Need Help With Canadian Geese Mess

AndyM · Mar 10, 2004

( Doug we really get them thick around here but oddly enough I seem to always see a lot more geese closer to town than out in the rural areas where I live. I really can't make a connection as to why. )

Mike, we used to live in Lakemore, on Springfield Lake, and we had almost an entire council meeting one night a few years back discussing the goose problem. It was finally decided that the village would buy fake swans to scare the geese away, but only worked until the geese figured out the swans weren't real. I don't know if they will figure out the alligator isn't real or not though.

PineRidge · Mar 10, 2004

Mike, we used to live in Lakemore, on Springfield Lake, and we had almost an entire council meeting one night a few years back discussing the goose problem. It was finally decided that the village would buy fake swans to scare the geese away, but only worked until the geese figured out the swans weren't real. I don't know if they will figure out the alligator isn't real or not though.


Andy, Lakemore is in my back yard so to speak. Maybe 15 minutes away out route 224. I don't know how long I can fool the geese either but once the pond gator arrives I figure I'll weight it using a cinder block and from time to time move it around a bit. Should be easy to do since I fish the pond anyway. I'll let you all know how it all works out.

tawilson · Mar 10, 2004

We started out with 2 geese raising their young a few years ago, last summer there were 3 pair and each pair had 4 gooslings.

TOMLESCOEQUIP · Mar 10, 2004

I figure I'll add my .02 on this discussion.......A friend of mine has a large concrete gator ( he got it in florida) placed coming half way out of the water on his 5 acre pond....It looks real enough to scare my kids when we fish there.........It worked on the geese until they figured out it never moves........now they're back and his pond is as trashed as ever. I guess what bothers me the most is that the geese seem to have more rights than we humans do. We often go boating to a state park near here and when we go to the beach there for a picnic lunch, my family has to walk through goose feces to get to the picnic tables, walk through more to get to the beach, and can't find a clear spot to put down our blanket without getting it trashed with goose poop !! I'm sick of putting up with this all the time..........Its not just one park we go to but the things are taking over everywhere !! Why don't we humans count as protected species too??

BillyP · Mar 10, 2004

How about using an air cannon?

BubbaJr · Mar 10, 2004

In a local city park they have had a terrible time with the Canadian Geese. Their solution was to have a city park employee armed with a pistol-like device that would shoot a shell out about 100' and then explode. It would literally scare the crap out of the geese as they flew off. Using this approach they have greatly decreased the Canadian Goose problem. By the way, they have several large lagoons that have Mallards, White Swans, Black Swans, and other species of ducks and geese that freely roamed with the Canadian Geese. Maybe it's time to rattle the cages of our congressmen to abolish the protective status of the Canadian Goose or at least have a few days of open season on them.

Cliff_Johns · Mar 10, 2004

( It worked on the geese until they figured out it never moves........now they're back and his pond is as trashed as ever. )

Which is why you want the floating one with an anchor. It
moves around in the water. I suppose if you wanted to get
really sneaky, and you have time to waste on such things,
you could put motion detection equipment and a little moter
with a prop on it. Could be fun to watch.

PhilNH5 · Mar 11, 2004

( How about using an air cannon? )

I was at a state park in PA once. We were enjoying ourselves - picnicing and fishing. Suddenly there was an explosion. Scared the stuffing out of me. My kid jumped at the noise and landed in the lake. Dropped her pole too.
Turns out the park was using a propane fired air cannon that went off at preset intervals. We quickly got use to it - as did the geese. They never even blinked.

Phil

boustany · Mar 11, 2004

Slowzuki

He's in the US.

fishman · Mar 11, 2004

Yes, here in the U.S. we still have some vestiges of freedom and personal responsibility. You don't get hassled until you do something stupid like shooting at low angles to the water. In other parts of the world you go to jail because you didn't get a permit authorizing you to shoot at low angles to the water even if you never planned on doing it in the first place.

Oh, and our tractors are cheaper too. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Anyway, many municipalities offer early season gunning for geese during special seasons, generally in September and October. These target nuisance geese in suburban settings. Most city dwellers and golfers only see the geese as they are lounging around eating bread, pooping, and generally making a nuisance out of themselves. In fact, most of these geese fly out to surrounding fields to get some real food and that's where the early season goose hunter can have some success.

It's quite challenging btw. Urban geese often live to a ripe old age (10+ years) and have seen most everything. They are extremely wary once they leave the safe confines of their urban setting.

This could be likened to a mugger from Washington D.C. being transplanted to a rural town anywhere in the U.S. He is no longer safe. Might be able to make a reality show out of that one: "Straight plan for the bad man" /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif